


Midnight Comfort

by QueenKatelynTheAristocrat



Category: Harry Potter and the Cursed Child - Thorne & Rowling
Genre: Adorable, Bullying, Coming Out, First Kiss, Fluff, Fluff and Angst, Getting Together, Harry Potter and the Cursed Child Compliant, Hurt/Comfort, Literal Sleeping Together, M/M, Pre-Canon, Pre-Slash, Slash
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-11-11
Updated: 2018-11-11
Packaged: 2019-08-21 23:18:23
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 5
Words: 5,905
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16586204
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/QueenKatelynTheAristocrat/pseuds/QueenKatelynTheAristocrat
Summary: Four times Scorpius and Albus find themselves sleeping in the same bed for comfort, and one time it becomes something more.





	1. First Year

It was the dead of night, only one week after Albus Potter had arrived at Hogwarts for the first time ever. Seven days since his sorting, when his entire life had turned upside down. Almost no time at all, and yet, it felt like an eternity. 

His own brother hadn’t spoken to him once in the week since the first day of school, and neither had his cousin Rose, even though he shared a few classes with her. He wondered if his mum and dad had heard the news yet. Even though his dad had told him not to worry, he was still anxiously awaiting the letter that his parents were sure to send when the news finally reached them.

The Slytherin dormitories were cold at night. Cold and silent. And even though he wasn’t used to sleeping in the pitch black dark, he had his curtains closed tight. If he opened them up, he would be bathed in the soft glow of the luminescent fish that swam in the lake, which was right outside their window, and maybe that would be of some small comfort, but he still wouldn’t be able to sleep: the truth of it was, he simply didn’t trust most of his roommates. To be more specific, he didn’t trust  _ any  _ of his roommates… except one glaring exception. 

He had known Scorpius Malfoy for one week and a few hours, and yet he already trusted him as though they’d grown up together since birth. Albus had no idea how so many people could believe Scorpius was some sort of evil creature. From the very moment he’d laid eyes on him he’d felt the deepest sort of instinct telling him that this was someone intrinsically  _ good.  _ Someone to be trusted. 

Just then, Albus’s curtains opened, just enough to allow a bit of light in at first, and then enough to admit a person once the perpetrator realized Albus was awake. And just like that, almost as if Albus’s thoughts had conjured him, Scorpius Malfoy was sitting at the end of Albus’s bed. Albus just watched as his friend lit his wand so that they could see each other, and then closed the curtains again behind him. 

Scorpius placed his wand beside him, creating a sort of night-light, and making his white blonde hair glow. Then he crawled forward, still without explanation, and sat next to Albus, curling into a ball in his green silk pajamas. 

“Scorpius?” Albus asked, a bit confused as to what exactly was happening and -- even though he couldn’t sleep -- quite frankly, exhausted. 

“Yes?” Scorpius replied, turning his big gray eyes on Albus, something open and uncomplicatedly vulnerable shining in them. 

“Not that I mind or anything -- cause I don’t, it’s totally fine -- but, what exactly is this?” Albus said, reluctantly curious despite his exhaustion. 

Scorpius scrunched up his eyebrows, as if he couldn’t fathom why exactly Albus was confused, and said, “I had a nightmare. Mum always lets me sleep in her bed when I have a nightmare.” 

Now Albus had  _ his  _ eyebrows scrunched up as well. There was some sort of lapse in communication occurring here, but he couldn’t seem to figure exactly what it was at this time of night. “And?” he asked, realizing after a moment that he was going to need further explanation. 

“You may not be my mum, but you  _ are _ my best friend, and that’s almost as good.” Scorpius said, unceremoniously laying down on top of Albus’s blankets, forcing Albus to scoot over a few inches so that they both fit. 

With that, Albus finally comprehended what was happening: Scorpius Malfoy -- whom he’d known for a grand total of seven days and a few odd hours -- was already coming to  _ him  _ for comfort.  _ He,  _ Albus Potter, was “almost as good” for comfort as Scorpius’s  _ mother.  _

It was a great weight of responsibility, that Albus felt in that moment. And on top of that realization, Scorpius was beginning to look worried that his actions were not being well-received. Immediately, Albus rushed to reassure. 

“Well..” he said, and Scorpius’s big gray eyes took on a nervous cast, “If you’re gonna stay here all night you might as well get under the covers so you don’t freeze to death. It’s cold in here.” he finished. 

The smile Albus got in return for that comment was so bright that he almost took back his claim that the air was cold: obviously a smile like that could make any space comfortably warm. 

Scorpius did as he was told, and soon both boys were curled up close together in the small bed, facing each other and smiling. Albus could feel the body heat that Scorpius radiated, and when he focused on the rhythmic sound of his best friend’s breathing, Albus could feel his anxiety slowly dissipating. 

After a moment, Albus grabbed Scorpius’s wand and dimmed the light to a weaker glow, then put it back at the end of the bed. In the relative dark, the boys huddled even closer together and closed their eyes. Maybe, Albus thought, this was all he needed to fall asleep after all. Right before he drifted off, he heard Scorpius whisper, “Thank you. For letting me stay.” 

Immediately, Albus felt a strong wave of gratitude and affection for his new best friend, and found himself replying, “No, thank  _ you. _ For helping me sleep.” 

Albus still had his eyes closed, but he thought he could pretty accurately imagine Scorpius’s smile. 


	2. Second Year

Albus was sitting in bed engrossed in his Potion’s homework -- a class that he, surprisingly, was fascinated by -- when it happened. He was in the middle of writing an incredibly ordinary essay on an incredibly ordinary day, when his routine quite suddenly differed from it’s usual course. 

It began when Albus heard the distinct sound of someone running down the stairs to the boys’ dormitories. At first, all he did was look up from his book, passively curious at this turn of events. Then, the sound got closer and closer until he heard the door to his dorm slam shut, and then Scorpius was hastily shoving his way through Albus’s curtains. 

Albus’s best friend immediately cast an impressively advanced locking charm on the curtains, and by that point, Albus was already dumping his books carelessly onto the floor, quite possibly ruining the essay he was in the middle of in the process. 

He didn’t care about that, though, because he immediately realized what was wrong: the thing about Scorpius was that he was  _ very  _ blonde, and the thing about ink was that it was  _ very  _ black, so it was very easy to tell that someone had quite obviously poured an entire jar of the stuff over Scorpius’s head. 

Scorpius was breathing heavy from both running and panic, and he seemed seconds from hyperventilating. Once the shock wore off, Albus said, “Oh my god! Scorpius, what happened?” 

When Scorpius turned around, Albus saw that someone had  _ also _ cast a spell so that his forehead read “Son of Voldemort” in black letters. “What  _ happened?”  _ Scorpius said, already incredibly worked up, “What happened is they poured  _ ink  _ in my  _ hair,  _ Albus!” 

“Who did?” Albus asked, trying to stay calm so that Scorpius didn’t end up in a full-blown panic attack. 

But Scorpius just shook his head rapidly, breathing still way off rhythm. He was obviously fighting hard not to cry. 

Albus couldn’t bear to see him like that. “Come here.” he said opening his arms. 

Scorpius just shook his head again, though. “I’ll g-get ink on your clothes.” he said, miserably, and Albus couldn’t believe he was still worried about Albus at a time like this, but he was  _ Scorpius  _ so of course he was. 

“You think I care?” Albus said, moving forward to wrap Scorpius up in his arms himself. And yes, he got ink all over his light blue shirt, but he quite honestly didn’t care in the least. If his mother got mad she would just have to get over it. 

Scorpius was shaking enough that Albus could feel it and blinking rapidly to hold back tears, and Albus felt a shot of pure anger travel down his spine. “Who did this?” he said, again. 

“Kurt and R-Rose and a few third years.” Scorpius answered, shakily. 

“Gryffindors?” Albus asked. 

Scorpius just nodded. Of course they were. 

“Why?” Albus asked, fighting hard now not to show his anger. 

“I ran into one of them in the hallway. Made him drop his books. Wasn’t looking where I was going. Guess that’s a crime worthy of humiliation, right?” Scorpius answered, his feeble attempt at humor not fooling Albus in the least. 

“Where’s your stuff? Did they take it?” Albus asked. 

“N-no I don’t think so. I think I dropped it in the hallway.” Scorpius sounded as if he wasn’t exactly sure  _ where  _ his stuff was or what happened to it, and Albus squeezed him tighter in response. They must have traumatized him badly. He and his cousin would be having  _ words _ about this.

“What floor was it?” Albus asked. 

“Fourth, I think.” Scorpius answered. 

“I’ll go look later tonight.” Albus said, decisively. 

“They cast some spell on me, too. I can f-feel it. It says Voldemort’s Son, doesn’t it?” 

Albus carefully brushed Scorpius’s ink covered hair off his forehead and rubbed his thumb across the cruel words. “Something like that, yes.” 

Scorpius just nodded. “I figured. That’s what they were calling me.” 

Since his friend’s shaking was subsiding, Albus felt ok to release him for long enough to grab his wand. “I think I know the counter-spell for that one, at least. James used it on me a few years ago, and I think I remember how my mum said the spell to get rid of it.” 

Albus pointed his wand at Scorpius -- who closed his eyes, displaying again his all-consuming blind trust in his best friend -- and, concentrating hard so he wouldn’t mess up, cast the counter-spell. Surprisingly, it actually worked on the first try. 

Scorpius apparently could feel it, because he immediately put his hand to his forehead and rubbed the skin there for a bit before sniffling and saying, “Thanks, Albus.” 

He still looked incredibly small and sad, and Albus did not like it in the least: his friend was usually indomitably sunny and optimistic, and the fact that someone had managed to take that away filled him with rage. 

“Now.” Albus said, feeling the need to take care of Scorpius when he looked so miserable, especially since Scorpius so often took care of him. “We need to wash that ink out before it dries and stains even worse.” 

Scorpius looked incredibly apprehensive about that idea. “Everyone will laugh at me.” he said, not meeting Albus’s eyes. “They all watched me run down here.” 

“I dare them to.” Albus said, with enough fire that Scorpius had to look up. What he saw in Albus’s eyes, Albus couldn’t be certain, but he guessed it was close to the righteous fury that Albus had seen so often in his father’s eyes. “Let’s unlock the curtains and go.” 

Scorpius was inspired with enough confidence to at least cast the unlocking spell, and Albus provided him with the rest he needed to get up by getting to his feet himself and then holding out his hand. 

Scorpius grabbed his friend’s hand and allowed himself to be pulled to his feet and then dragged purposefully into the hallway. Albus then led him through the common room and into the boys bathroom, and the look in his green eyes must have been a sight to see because not a single Slytherin commented on the situation. 

The two of them then got into a shower stall still fully dressed, and Scorpius sat on the floor while Albus kneeled behind him and washed his hair thoroughly six times until all that was left was an almost unnoticeable gray tint to his hair. 

By the time the boys had to run back to their dormitory in their sopping wet clothes, they were giggling. 


	3. Third Year

Third year was the year after the summer when Scorpius’s mum died. That was the defining characteristic of the year for both Scorpius and Albus, because even though Albus couldn’t even imagine the pain of losing a parent, Scorpius’s pain was Albus’s pain and not every problem could be solved as easily as a bottle of ink poured in someone’s hair. 

Scorpius spent every night for the first two months or so of school in Albus’s bed, often waking both of them in the middle of the night with his nightmares, or crying himself to sleep while Albus held him. But the worse day was the night before the funeral. 

Scorpius had been looking more miserable than usual all day, and even though Albus had wished for months that he could banish the constant dimmed look in his best friend’s eyes, he absolutely  _ hated  _ to see him like this. Not even his classes had interested Scorpius for the last few days, and Albus had dutifully taken far more thorough notes than he usually did for when the time came that Scorpius wanted to catch back up on his school work. 

That night, though, Scorpius hadn’t cried. He hadn’t acted out in rage, and he hadn’t pushed Albus away. Instead, he just laid there, completely still except for his breathing, and staring up at the ceiling. Somehow, Albus thought, that was far worse than sobbing would have been. 

Albus had been unsure at first if his touch was wanted, but when he hesitantly laid a hand on Scorpius’s arm, he suddenly found himself with Scorpius in his arms, again frozen completely still but this time with his head against Albus’s chest. They had just stayed there in silence for Albus didn’t even know how long, Albus afraid to break the silence and intrude on his friend’s grief, and Scorpius completely lost in his miserable thoughts. 

Finally, Scorpius whispered in an almost scary monotone, “My mother is dead, Albus.” 

“I know, Scorp.” Albus said, after a few seconds, at a complete loss for any other better, more comforting words. 

“She’s never coming back. I’ll never hug her again or hear her sing to me or read books to her.” Scorpius continued, still in that emotionless voice. 

“No.” Albus said, unsure how to react and feeling more helpless than he ever had in his life. 

“My mother’s dead.” He just said again. 

“Oh, Scorp.” Albus said, squeezing him tighter. 

Holding his friend that closely, Albus could tell that he was not, in fact, completely still after all, because instead he was tensed up and shivering, both from the cold and his emotional anguish. Albus found his wand beside him and cast a warming charm over his friend, but the shivers only lessened a little. 

Regardless, he could tell that Scorpius was grateful, somewhere in his mess of emotions, because he nudged his forehead against Albus’s chest after he went back to holding him. 

“My mother is dead and gone and now there’s only two people who love me in the whole world.” Scorpius said. 

Albus knew that Scorpius was referring to his father and Albus himself. He still wasn’t sure what to say, so he waited for Scorpius to continue. 

“Tell me you’ll never leave me.” Scorpius whispered, so quietly that Albus barely heard him. 

He did, however, know exactly what to say to that: “I’ll never leave you. I promise.” 

Scorpius gave an almost sarcastic exhalation of breath. “You really mean that, don’t you?” he said, and Albus watched in morbid fascination as his usually-optimistic best friend went off on the darkest tangent Albus had ever heard in his life, “But you can’t really promise that because you could die, too. You could die in a freak accident, or you could get sick, too, or some old Death Eater could come kill you to get revenge on Harry Potter. And then there would only be one person who loves me. And then Dad could die, too, and then there would be no one who loves me. So what’s even the point?” 

Scorpius’s words caused Albus physical pain in his chest, they were so dark and hopeless. Albus struggled valiantly to find hope, to find words of encouragement in the darkest time his friend had ever known. “The point is…” he began, “The point is, I’m here now and so are you. Your dad might not be here, physically, but he’s still alive and he loves you as well. The point is that even though there might only be two people in the world who love you, we both love you  _ so much _ that everyone else in the world could hate you and our love would still be greater than their hate. The point is that you’re going to survive this, because I need you, because the  _ world  _ needs you. You’re the kindest, best, most amazing person I’ve ever met, Scorp. 

“And sure, maybe I can’t promise that a terrible, freak, accident won’t separate us, but I can promise that I would never leave you on purpose. As long as I live, you will always have one person who loves you.” 

By the end of his speech, Scorpius was crying silently, tears running down his cheeks, finally letting his sorrow to the surface. 

Having made his point, Albus just held him long into the night until they both drifted off into a fitful sleep. 

The next day at his mother’s funeral, Scorpius Malfoy sat in the front row, dressed in his best black robes, with Albus on one side of him holding his hand and his father on the other. Even though all he felt on that day was sorrow, he would look back on that day long in the future as proof of Albus’s words: neither of them would leave him of their own volition, as long as they lived. 


	4. Fourth Year

Fourth year was when Albus learned that all it took to give a person near-permanent insomnia was a few traumatizing trips through time and emotional manipulation from a psychopath. 

Really, it should have been a given that experiences such as these would leave a few mental scars, but it wasn’t until he was living in the aftermath that Albus realized exactly what that brilliant idea of his would cause. 

And worst of all, it wasn’t even his own fear and suffering that plagued him the most in his nightmares, it was the fact that Delphi had used  _ Scorpius  _ against him, had tortured him, and he had been powerless to stop her. 

On top of that, he’d broken the promise he made to Scorpius: he had allowed his father to keep them apart. His own cowardice appalled him. He should have fought harder, should have went to Scorpius and convinced him to run away sooner, should have never dragged Scorpius along on such a ridiculous adventure in the first place. Should have dealt with his damn emotions in a healthier way. 

He was an absolutely terrible friend and was trying to do everything he could to make himself worthy of Scorpius’s affection, though he felt certain he never would be. Scorpius deserved so much better than him, but he was selfishly so very glad that Scorpius himself had never realized that undeniable fact. 

All he really knew was that his best friend was an incredibly rare type of person: the type who could walk stoically through a world that had been so very cruel to him and still remain purely good at heart. The type who could come out of incomprehensible sorrow even stronger than ever, even more steadfast and determined. 

Scorpius had endured enough to turn a weaker person into a monster, and yet he met every day with a smile and managed to give so much love to others. Yes, his affection was a gift that Albus was certain he did not deserve. 

How very selfishly Albus wished that Scorpius was there as he lay awake by himself to comfort him. His best friend’s very presence was often enough to set Albus at ease, and when it wasn’t his voice always did the trick. 

Things between them had shifted in the past year. It was almost as if they both noticed around the same time that they were becoming a bit too old for them to do things like hug in public and sleep in the same bed without people disapproving. 

Not that they were used to anyone approving of them in the first place, so Albus wasn’t sure exactly what their problem was. 

Albus could take it no longer. He quietly opened his curtains and then walked over to stand beside Scorpius’s. Their beds were only a few feet apart, so he didn’t have to go far. Lacking the confidence his friend so often displayed to barge right in without asking, Albus whispered, as loudly as he dared, “Scorpius? Are you awake?” 

Almost immediately the curtains before Albus were opened, and there knelt Scorpius who replied, “Do you even have to ask?” in a tone that --  for once -- betrayed his exhaustion. 

“I can’t sleep.” Albus said, rather unnecessarily. 

“Me either.” Scorpius said, moving to the other side of his bed. “Get in here and close the curtains before we wake the others and get hexed before six in the morning” 

Albus hesitated for only a moment before obeying, feeling his heart race for reasons he didn’t really understand. It was probably just the fact that Albus was used to Scorpius coming to  _ him  _ for comfort, not the other way around. Vulnerability wasn’t really Albus’s thing. 

“Well, this is a first.” Scorpius mused, absentmindedly, “I suppose I should do a proper introduction: Albus, meet my bed. My Bed, meet Albus Potter.” 

“I’m sure the two of us have met at least once in the past four years, Scorp.” Albus said, bemused. 

“Ah, but not at night though. I always used to end up in  _ your  _ bed, which makes this feel a bit strange, even though the only difference is that we’re a few feet closer to the window than usual.” Scorpius continued, making himself comfortable on the left side of the bed he was currently discussing, as per the usual. 

Albus leaned back against the headboard beside his friend, hugging his knees against the cold, and said, “Really, the only difference is the location. I’m pretty sure all the beds in the dorm are identical.” The location, and the  _ implications,  _ Albus thought. 

“Regardless, I’m glad you’re here. If we’re going to be unable to sleep, I’d much rather we be unable to sleep together.” Scorpius said, rolling over to face Albus. 

Albus felt again that wave of inadequacy and couldn’t help but express it. “I don’t deserve you, Scorp.” he said, giving in and sliding down to lay beside his friend beneath the blankets. 

Scorpius’s eyebrows scrunched up in that familiar endearing way. “Why would you think that?” 

“You’re too kind and good. I could never be as good as you.” Albus said, earnestly and without facade. 

Scorpius studied him with those clever gray eyes of his, and Albus knew what he’d find: a rare openness in his expression and honesty in his eyes. Eventually, Scorpius just shook his head. “You shouldn’t believe such negative things about yourself.” he said, in a no-nonsense tone. 

“And why not? It’s true. I’m a terrible friend, and a terrible person.” Albus said, unable to stop himself. 

“Untrue.” Scorpius declared. 

“How do you figure?” Albus asked, pure self-deprecation. 

“Albus, you saw through the rumors and the lies that have followed me my whole life. You’ve never let anyone tell you what you should think and why. You don’t mind that I’m different. You’ve never once doubted me, even when I doubted myself.” Scorpius said. 

“Well, of course not. They don’t know what they’re missing by shunning you. They’re all fools, every single one of them.” Albus said, without hesitation. 

“See? That right there is what I’m talking about. You’re unfailingly loyal. And you see the truth in things. Usually. You may have some flaws, but who doesn’t?”  Scorpius said, smiling that bright smile of his. 

“You don’t. Have any flaws.” Albus answered. 

“Glad to hear that you think so, Albus, but that is a wildly false statement. You may want to get a second opinion. From literally anyone else.” Scorpius said, vehemently. 

“Well, if you do have flaws, then I definitely never notice them.” Albus said, fondly. 

Scorpius just stared at him for a moment, then said, just a little too late, “See? There it is again. Only a truly good person would say something like that.” 

Albus considered. He still didn’t think he was worthy of a friend like Scorpius, but he felt a bit more reassured that Scorpius himself wasn’t going to realize it anytime soon, which was -- as well as his friend’s very presence -- a great comfort. “Thanks, I guess.” He said. 

Scorpius just smiled again, and Albus could tell that he knew Albus didn’t believe him, but he clearly decided to drop it for now because he said, “Not to sound desperate, but please don’t leave? I almost feel as if I might be able to sleep for once.” 

“Honestly, I don’t think I could bring myself to leave even if I’d had intentions of doing so.” Albus replied. 

“Good.” Scorpius said, closing his eyes and effectively ending their conversation. 

Albus closed his eyes as well, and although they were reluctant to curl up as closely as they had as children, they did sleep better than they had in months, even with a foot of space between them. 


	5. Fifth Year

Scorpius was on a date with Rose. She’d finally said yes, after years of hounding. Albus was lying awake feeling an impressive amount of jealousy, all of which he was trying to deny. 

The jealousy wasn’t even really justified yet, anyway. It was only one date, not like the two of them were together or anything. Not like they’d ever spent time together besides that one night. So Albus didn’t know why his emotions were being so ridiculous. 

He told himself that he was only still awake because he wanted to ask Scorpius how it went when he got back. This was not the truth. The truth was that he couldn’t sleep without the knowledge that Scorpius was sleeping in the bed just next to his. Alone, he felt as if he were surrounded by enemies. He supposed that he was  _ always  _ surrounded by enemies, but with Scorpius by his side he always felt a bit braver. 

He wondered if Scorpius was having fun. If he was enjoying his time with Rose, who had stood by laughing as her friends tormented him for years. Who had only stopped being cruel to him because he and Albus had travelled through time and saved the world, and therefore seemed a bit more dangerous. A bit less like people you wanted to attack openly. 

Not that people didn’t still whisper, didn’t still shout things from the safety of a large group, so that Albus and Scorpius couldn’t tell who had spoken and who was just a bystander. People hadn’t gotten any less cruel, they’d just become more cautious.   
Albus couldn’t understand why Scorpius remained so obsessed with her. After all the cruel things she’d said, all the cruel things she’d done. She was Albus’s _cousin_ and even he admitted she was bad news. 

As jealous as he was, Albus really hoped this wasn’t a prank, because if it was he might have to murder his cousin himself. 

Right about then, Albus heard the door creak open, and the immediately recognizable sound of Scorpius’s footsteps as he walked in. Albus sat up and listened as the footsteps stopped right outside Albus’s curtains -- as if Scorpius was hesitantly deciding whether to open them -- then continued past to Scorpius’s bed. 

Assuming that Scorpius had thought Albus was asleep and didn’t want to wake him, Albus peeked out of his curtains, only to see that Scorpius still had his curtains open -- on the side facing Albus’s bed -- and was just sitting in the middle of his bed with his face in his hands, his shoulders tight with anxiety. 

Now Albus was concerned. “Scorpius?” he asked, opening his curtains all the way. 

“Oh. Hi, Albus.” Scorpius said, not looking up. 

“What happened?” Albus asked, sliding to the end of his bed, facing Scorpius. “Was she mean? If she was mean, I’ll kill her, I--” Albus said. 

“No, she wasn’t mean. She was really nice actually.” Scorpius said, cutting Albus off before he got angry. 

Albus was silent for a minute, just observing the tension in his best friend’s shoulders. He very much wanted to go comfort him, but wasn’t sure if that was what Scorpius wanted. “If it wasn’t a prank then… why do you look sad?” 

Scorpius glanced up at him once, then looked back down. “It wasn’t a prank, she… oh, this is humiliating.” he said, sounding distressed. 

Albus closed the distance between them, as if drawn by some invisible force. He sat at the end of Scorpius’s bed and rested a hand on his friend’s shoulder. “She what?” 

“She…” Scorpius finally looked up at Albus, and his eyes were full of conflicted emotions, “She tried to kiss me, Albus.” 

“Oh. And…?” Albus said, unsure how to respond. 

“And I couldn’t do it. I made some excuse and left. I’m sure the entire school will know by morning.” Scorpius said, only making Albus more confused. 

“I, uh, I thought you liked her?” Albus said, trying to understand. 

“Did I? Did I really, though? Or did I just like the  _ idea  _ of her?” Scorpius said, sounding more distressed by the moment. 

Albus was unsure where this was coming from. Scorpius had been talking about how beautiful Rose was just that morning, saying she was truly worthy of her name, that she was as gorgeous as a flower. And now here he was saying all of that was fake. 

“So what are you saying?” he asked, eventually. 

“I guess I’m… I don’t know, I guess I… I’m saying that…” Scorpius rambled then closed his eyes and shook his head, as if psyching himself up for something. 

All Albus knew was that he could never bear to see Scorpius in distress like that, so he moved forward and put an arm around his best friend’s shoulders, which immediately lost some of their tension. 

Albus just waited for him to continue, knowing that whatever Scorpius was trying to say was important and that he shouldn’t interrupt. 

“Albus. I guess I’m saying that I don’t… like girls. Like that.” Scorpius finished, then squeezed his eyes shut tight as if fearing Albus’s reaction. 

Albus just studied him, a portrait of nerves and tension, fingers in constant motion, like always. He knew he should be reassuring, but Albus had genuinely never considered this a possibility -- what with Scorpius’s long-lasting obsession with Rose -- and had resigned himself to a platonic relationship between them, but now… 

“I suppose since you’re not fleeing in panic, you must be ok with it?” Scorpius said, still not opening his eyes. “You don’t think Mum would be disappointed, do you?” 

That sort of nonsensical question had Albus talking immediately. “Of course not. Scorpius. I know I never met her, but from what you’ve said about her… She loved you so much. And… I do too. You could never tell me anything about yourself that I would be not ok with, alright?” 

That got a smile out of Scorpius, who finally opened his eyes, but still didn’t look up. “Well, I’m relieved.” he said, “It’s not like I really thought you would run away in disgust, but I was… worried.” 

Albus knew that this was his moment to confess. He just wasn’t sure if he was brave enough. But, if Scorpius already had been, even when he had more to lose than Albus did now… “Scorpius, I need to tell you something.” 

Scorpius looked up at him now, instantly giving Albus his full attention. There must have been something in his voice. 

“I’ve never… um, I don’t like girls. Either.” Albus said, meeting Scorpius’s familiar gray eyes as he did, even though it was hard. 

“Wait, so you’re saying that…” Scorpius said, eyes filling to something akin to realization. 

“Yes.” Albus said. 

“Do you think that…” Scorpius began,  “things between us have maybe been more than friendship-y this entire time?” 

“Well, maybe not the entire time, but the last few years… maybe? Yes. Probably?” Albus said, looking away from Scorpius’s eyes and then back. 

“Wow. Ok. Wow.” Scorpius said, looking a bit flustered, now displaying even more nervous energy than he usually did. 

“Um, we’ve always been… very close? Maybe more than platonically close? And I can’t say I haven’t thought about…um... “ Albus said, losing his nerve. 

Scorpius looked up at him, gray eyes wide. “You have?” 

Albus just nodded. “And I was so jealous tonight, Scorpius. Way more jealous than I should have been at the idea of my best friend finding a girlfriend.” 

“I can’t say that I, uh, haven’t considered it myself.” Scorpius said, still looking incredibly nervous, now again with his eyes closed. 

Albus studied him, unsure of how to proceed. This night was taking an entirely different turn than he’d expected it to, but that  _ definitely  _ wasn’t a bad thing. Not a bad thing at all. 

In the end, Albus decided that he would never know if he didn’t try. Albus turned so that he was facing Scorpius, then hesitantly reached forward and grabbed both of Scorpius’s hands, lacing their fingers together. 

Scorpius looked up at him, down at their hands, then back up to Albus’s eyes. He looked nervous, a bit surprised, and just as overwhelmed as Albus felt. “Scorpius, I know you’ve already refused one kiss tonight, but…” 

Scorpius bit his lip, looking conflicted. “I’ve never…” 

“Me either.” Albus admitted. 

Scorpius studied his expression closely, and was apparently satisfied with what he found there. “Then, um, yes. You may.” he said, and closed his eyes. 

Albus felt himself leaning forward, and before he consciously realized what was happening, their lips were connecting, and he was moving his hands to Scorpius’s hair, the same hair that he’d once washed six times just to make sure he got all the ink out of it, and Scorpius was grabbing the front of Albus’s shirt as if he needed something to ground him. 

It was the most innocent kiss in the world, and yet Albus felt it in every part of his body. It was amazing and overwhelming and… right. In a way nothing ever had been before. 

Before long they had to separate, and as they gasped in air they’d been neglecting, they slowly, reluctantly, released their grips on each other. 

“That.” Scorpius said, opening his eyes, “Should be a thing we do now. Often.” 

Albus smiled and said, “Yes. Yes, it should.” 

And with that, they curled up even closer than they had when they were children, legs intertwined and holding hands, unable to do anything but stare at each other, both glowing with happiness. 

As they drifted off, they were both more content than they’d ever been in their lives. Really, they’d been building toward this moment for a long time. There was nowhere else that either of them belonged more than each other’s arms. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Kudos and Comments make my day! <3


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